FL Stock Index

The S&P 500 is composed of large capitalization firms in the United States that are significant employers in all states. In theory, stock prices are a representation of future earnings expectations. Therefore, growth in sectors with a high presence in Florida translate into improved expectations of Florida's economic outlook.

Definition:

The Florida Stock Market Index takes the monthly average of each sector in the S&P 500, and then indexes these figures to January 2003. Each sector is then weighted by its respective percentage of Florida’s annual employment, and the sectors are then summed together. The ten sectors of the S&P 500 are Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Financials, Health Care, Industrials, Energy, Materials, Information Technology, Telecommunications, and Utilities. The employment data comes from the Current Population Survey's merged outgoing rotation groups. In order to ensure a large enough sample size, the data is made into an eight year moving average.